The Forsaken
by JennMel
Summary: The anomalies are getting worse. One of the team has been missing for 3 months, taken by Helen. Now Helen is back with a warning, and creatures from the future are attacking the ARC. But time is never as linear as people assume...
1. Chapter 1

Author Notes: I never intended to write this, but it kept annoying me, so here we are. As I missed the s2 finale, we're ignoring that whole cliffhanger from 2x06, and the whole episode, except for the funky creature-controller thing, which I'm using. IN other words, pre episode 6 of the second series. AU. The rating is there for swearing, and then mild violence in later chapters, so don't read if that bothers you. I guess this is kinda Connor/Abby, but I'm only writing what I see from the show, and any romance will be canon, so it can probably be taken as close friends. I'll put up a warning if that changes.

Disclaimer: Don't own, etc. etc.

**The Forsaken**

Chapter 1

Abby sat on the sofa, staring at the television, but not actually watching anything. It was well into the early hours of the morning, but she didn't feel tired. It was how it had been for a couple of months now; exhausted during the day, but insomniac at night. She felt like she was moving through life as if it were quicksand, but couldn't find the strength to pull herself out. What was the use? She knew that both Nick and Stephen were worried about her. They thought that she missed their whispered comments, furtive glances. They meant well, but she couldn't put on a front just for them; she couldn't pretend like she didn't care.

Anomalies were occurring more and more, so much so that Cutter was not the only one to head a response team. He had tried to hold control for as long as possible, but with him refusing to take on another team member, Lester had insisted on a beta team. Everything had just fallen apart that day. Thinking back, Abby knew how much they had taken it for granted, but in truth, none of them had realised what had truly kept their team going.

Rex glided down to rest on the arm of the sofa, gently nudging Abby's arm with his nose. He knew, he understood, more than any of them at the ARC. He knew what it felt for the flat to be so empty, for Abby to be so focused on work that her mind went on autopilot.

A beeping from the pocket of her jeans dragged Abby out of her blank mindset. Seeing the ID, she flipped it open, "Cutter? What's up? Another anomaly?"

The voice on the other end sounded exasperated, "You picked up quickly. You were exhausted today, shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Got up for a drink of water." Abby lied easily. She knew Cutter didn't buy it, but she also knew he wouldn't push the matter; he hadn't called for a social reason.

"We found an anomaly. The other team responded."

Abby was confused, "Nick, why are you calling?"

"They found Helen."

Abby froze, her grip unconsciously tightening around the phone. Three words that hit her like a wall, "I'll be there in five minutes."

Nick hung up, turning to Stephen, "She's on her way."

Jenny and Lester were both standing nearby with the leader of the beta team, a man named Harris. "Is this a wise idea?" Jenny asked, her voice cutting through the charged air. "I can't say it's one of your best."

Both men ignored her. Stephen stepped towards the glass window that looked down into the cell below. In the room was a table and two chairs, with a handcuffed woman staring up at them. "She won't give us any answers. But we know she's here for a reason; Helen only ever lets herself get caught." Cutter spoke, "I didn't want to bring Abby into this, but I think we've got no choice."

Lester snorted, "She won't talk to her ex-husband, her ex-lover, or armed men. What makes you think she'll pay attention to your little zookeeper?"

Stephen glared at him, but Nick didn't take his gaze from Helen, "You'd be surprised."

* * *

Abby dumped her bag on the floor as she strode into the control room, "Where is she?" 

Stephen looked up from his laptop, "In one of the interrogation rooms. Cutter's down there." Abby made to turn around, "Wait!"

"What?" Stephen didn't flinch at her icy tone.

"She might not have the answers, Abby. You can't expect this to fix everything."

"She took him Stephen! Of course she has the fucking answers! Am I the only one who hates this bitch? She will tell us where he is." Without waiting for a reply, she was gone.

Stephen sighed, rising to follow her, just in case she did something she'd regret. Abby had taken it harder than any of them; she had been there when it happened, and he knew she blamed herself for not doing anything. They all did.

Nick and Helen had been having quite a fun staring contest over the table when the door flew open, revealing Abby and a flustered looking guard. In two strides, the young woman had reached Helen, grabbed her by the jacket and wrenched her out of the chair, "Where is he?"

Helen crooked a smile, "You've got feistier since we last met. Sleeping with Nick yet?"

"Shut up!" The guard made to pull her off, but Nick held up a hand. If anything, Abby needed to let her emotions out, whether it made Helen talk or not, "I asked you a question."

Helen rolled her eyes over-dramatically, "How should I know? That kid of yours has more energy than I gave him credit for. I didn't plan for this. It's not my fault."

Abby let out a harsh bark of laughter, and looked like she was going to punch Helen right there, but Stephen had arrived, and pulled her off. Helen straightened her jacket, aware that all eyes were on her. Nick spoke first, "You didn't plan for what exactly?"

Helen looked at him sharply, "Don't tell me you haven't noticed?" There was silence, "Apparently I gave you too much credit."

"Stop milking it and get on with it!" Stephen spat.

"The anomalies are worsening, both the connection with the past and the future. They are also condensing. With every week they appear closer and closer to this base – you've surely noticed the shorter car drive to your monsters? Something is reaching a peak, something that shouldn't be happening. We need to fix it before you lose your time to the dinosaurs."

Nick was going to ask more, but Abby cut across him, "We're not helping you until you tell us where Connor is!"

"I don't know."

This was too much for both Abby and Stephen. Helen suddenly found herself slammed against the wall by her ex-lover, while Abby screamed, "You're the one who took him! How can you not know where he is? It's been over three months and you're only coming here now? What for? To gloat that you won?"

Helen looked up sharply, "Three months?" Abby nodded the affirmative. "Then it's already progressed further than I thought."

Stephen pressed her harder into the wall, "Get to the point Helen."

"It's been eight months since I last saw your friend. If he's not dead, then for him it may be more or less time." This revelation shocked Stephen into releasing his hold, and the others were stunned into silence. Helen continued, "I am sorry for what I did. It was honestly not my intention for this to happen. My plan had been to just leave him in the past a little way from an anomaly that would have come out in the Fens. I wanted to make you sweat a bit. Something went wrong."

* * *

They had been following up a lead on a possible anomaly at a hospital; some 'lizards' had torn apart the morgue, chomping their way through their fare share of corpses before moving onto more living fare in one of the wards. Jenny had managed to secure an evacuation of the upper floors, saying that asbestos had been found in the walls. The critical patients had been moved a nearby hospital, while all other patients were being kept to the lower floors. 

"I'm just saying. I get how Rex feels. He's lonely, wants the company of the opposite sex; easy enough to relate to." Conner rambled away as he and Abby checked out the radiology room.

Abby raised an eyebrow, "Uh huh. I thought you had a date."

"I did, but every time we arrange something, another anomaly pops up! I swear the universe is conspiring against me."

Abby bit back a smile. Secretly she was glad Connor hadn't been able to properly meet up with this new woman Caroline. She wasn't jealous or anything, but there was something about the whole situation that seemed...weird. Connor was her best friend and she didn't want to see him get hurt. A crash in the corner made them both turn, Abby with her gun raised, "Can you see anything?"

Connor shook his head, "I really wish you guys would give me a gun."

Abby snorted, "I'm going to spare you the embarrassment of recounting each time we were stupid enough to give you one."

"Oh come on!"

Abby turned her head, disturbance momentarily forgotten, "Connor, you _shot_ me!"

"With a tranquillizer gun! I said I was sorry! Like a million times – c'mon Abbs..."

Abby rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "Come on then, we should probably check in with Stephen and Cutter, see if they've found anything. Doesn't seem to be anything here."

"Uh...Abby..." The tone of Connor's voice had changed.

She whirled around. Connor was standing near the doorway, with a gun pointed at his head, held by Helen Cutter. "Gun on the floor, and hands up. Don't even think about contacting the others, or you'll see this one's brains decorating the walls."

Abby grudgingly obeyed, placing her gun on the floor, her eyes never breaking contact with Connor's. "What do you want?"

"I want Nick to wake up and smell reality. Even after his little Claudia disappeared, he still didn't get it."

"What?"

"How nature works. Take this situation for example. The hunter picks off the weakest in the group." She smiled, "Tell the boys I said hi." In one smooth movement, Helen swung the gun to point at Abby, aiming at her leg. The crack of the gunshot went right off in Connor's ear, but the following cry of pain was worse. The warm barrel was once again pressed into his temple, and the hands that held his arms pulled him backwards.

"Why are you doing this?"

Helen shoved him forwards so that he was ahead of her, "You're not finding this fun?"

"Cutter's right; you're insane."

"Open that door." Connor reluctantly obeyed. It was only a supply closet, but this one was bathed in the crystalline white light of an anomaly. "Move."

Connor turned to face her, "No way in hell."

Helen sighed, but a shout from the end of the corridor caught her attention. The girl must have radioed for help, as both Nick and Stephen were running towards her, guns raised. She smiled, and waved with her free hand, before pulling the trigger with the other. The bullet impacted Connor in the shoulder, the momentum propelling him backwards through the anomaly. Blowing them a kiss, she jumped through after him. The anomaly, which had already been growing smaller, began to flicker and die. They had lost them.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Hope you liked it enough to keep reading, I'd love it if you'd leave a review:)


	2. Chapter 2

Author Notes: Thanks for the great feedback; it's nice to know you like the story! Hope you enjoy this chapter as much.

Chapter 2

To Connor, it felt as if he was suspended in air for an eternity, his mind not truly registering what had just happened in such a short space of time. And then his back impacted on hard, dusty ground, and he was tumbling head over heels down a steep slope. Dust clogged in his throat and nose, and the wound in his shoulder screamed in protest. He tried to stop himself with his hands, but his skin only tore on the uneven rocky surface. After what seemed like an age, his battered body came to rest at the base of the slope. Head spinning, Connor tried to pick himself back up. He coughed violently as he tried to draw in oxygen from the arid, dust filled air, and looked up the slope which he had just come down.

Glittering innocently at the top of the hill was the anomaly. He watched as it fluctuated slightly, and a figure leapt through, landing neatly at the top; Helen. She looked around, confused for a second, before spotting his dark form at the bottom. As she made her way down the uneven ground, Connor watched in despair as the anomaly began to grow smaller and smaller, until the only thing that hung in the air were waves of heat. No way back.

Unsteadily, he pushed himself up with his hands. His damaged shoulder protested, but his anger overrode it; regardless whether this woman had a gun or not, she had just taken him for no real reason. His life had gone from abnormally normal to hell in the space of a few minutes. Helen reached the bottom, "Get up. You'll need me to tie up that shoulder."

The words were spoken so casually that it made Connor want to scream. But instead, only an oddly calm question came out, "When are we?"

"Early to middle Jurassic." Helen walked towards him, causing Connor to take an unsteady step back. Helen ignored him, roughly taking hold of his shoulder to examine the bullet wound, "Well aren't we the lucky one? Bullet went right through." She tore off some dirty cloth from her pack, and made to tie up his shoulder.

Connor pulled away, "Get off me! You're the one who shot me, and now you want to patch me up? We're stuck in the past, unless you hadn't noticed – why the hell have you done this?"

"Oh, stop whining. There's an anomaly hotspot a few miles from here. I'll drop you off there, just try not to drop dead in the process; Cutter wouldn't be pleased. And please don't talk; annoying people make my trigger finger itch." She roughly tied the material around Connor's shoulder, making him wince, before setting off purposefully. Connor had no choice but to follow her; she was his only link to the future.

* * *

The temperature had begun to drop rapidly as night set in, with the last rays of dusk gracing the sky, but Helen didn't seem to be slowing her pace. Connor stumbled along behind her, his mouth dry and claggy from lack of water, and his shoulder throbbing. He was beginning to feel lightheaded, and was pretty sure he wasn't walking in a very straight line. Helen turned to see that Connor had fallen even farther behind, "Come on! Hurry it up! You'll be in a hospital in a few hours; the anomalies are just over the ridge."

Connor had long since given up trying to figure out Helen's motives, just pegging her as a generally unbalanced, sadistic woman. He lost his footing on the uneven ground, slipping to one knee. One part of him just wanted to lie down and sleep, but the tiny stubborn corner of his brain kept reminding him that he wanted to get away from this woman; that he wanted to get home.

A rough hand wrenched him to his feet by his injured shoulder, and pushed him forwards, "I told you to hurry it up."

Connor was about to bite back a reply, when a high pitched wail wrenched through the air, making his skin crawl. Helen froze, hand coming to rest on her gun. "What was that?" Connor hissed. "'Cause it didn't sound nice, and unless you haven't noticed, I'm bleeding."

Helen looked at him sharply, eyes wild, "Move!"

Somehow finding the energy for it, Connor scrambled up the slope after Helen. In the small valley below shone an anomaly, glowing all the more brilliantly in the dying light. Nearby was a creature that Connor had to squint to make out, tearing apart what looked like a pterosaur. Helen drew a sharp breath, "It took it from the air."

Connor glanced at her, "What is it?"

"It's one of the creatures from the future." Helen's eyes were almost maniacal, "That anomaly might be the one."

"What the hell are you on about?"

"It might be the one to take me to the future."

Connor looked at her incredulously, despite himself, "Isn't that the general idea?"

"Not your future, idiot, _the_future."

"_What?_" Connor couldn't help but yell; the only thing that had kept him going was the prospect of making it home, and here was Helen telling him that wouldn't be possible, "What about me? You just gonna leave me here?"

Helen clamped her hand over his mouth, but it was too late. The sound had carried enough for the creature to hear. An ear-splitting cry shook the night, but Helen was already running towards the anomaly. Not having a better idea, Connor followed; any future was surely better that this past. The creature stood, and took two bounds before taking to the air. In a perverted way, Connor noted, it was like a giant Rex with teeth.

The second he took his eyes from the ground to look at the creature had been a mistake, as Connor lost his footing and once again found himself tumbling down a slope, a cloud of dust in his wake. The creature dived, its long tail catching Helen across the chest, sending her flying. In hindsight, perhaps attracting its attention had been a bad plan. It soared down, another cry penetrating their ears enough make Connor's vision grey. It landed impossibly lightly, and began creeping forwards to where Helen lay. Connor wasn't sure if it had noticed him or not, so tentatively picked himself up and, throwing caution to the wind, forced his body to make one last run towards the anomaly, praying that Helen was wrong, that it led back to his own time.

The creature head swivelled around, catching sight of him for the first time, and probably smelling the weakness. In a last ditch effort, Connor jumped into the anomaly, crying out in the silver world as the creature's claws sank into his leg and it came through with him.

When Helen came around, it was completely dark, with no anomaly lighting up the air. A faint smell of the carcass not so far away from her hung in the atmosphere, but apart from that, no anomaly, no creature, and as far as she could tell, no Connor.

Shit.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Any comments would be greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Author Notes: Kinda took longer than expected to update this one, but I hope it's worth it! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

"_This is the only way." _

"_I don't think I can do this."_

"_You're the best of all of us."_

"_But I'm _not_ one of you. I never was. You know that."_

"_And that's why you will succeed. You have to succeed."_

"_So no pressure then."_

"_We need you, Connor."_

"_I know."_

"_You've got to go now. We don't know when we'll get another chance like this; the anomalies are getting harder to predict."_

"_So...goodbye then."_

"_Not really. I'll be there when you get there."_

"_No you won't. If I succeed, you'll never exist."_

"_And there lies your motivation. Good luck Connor. And be careful, you don't know who you'll see first."_

"_I-"_

"_Me too."_

_-Fire, burning, screams and flame. So much black, so much confusion-_

"_Go!"_

_-And then there was pain-_

"_Look out!"_

"_Run!"_

_-And a shroud of white light before cold nothingness-_

* * *

Helen paused, regarding the silent room. They hadn't seemed too happy to hear how she had lost their precious pet, but then, she hadn't come here expecting friends, she had come here to stop the universe breaking apart. Not to save everyone else, of course, but even she knew the value of having a prospective future.

The skinny blonde girl looked like she was going to get violent again. Wonderful.

A shrill alarm broke the tension first. "The anomaly detector." Cutter moved towards the door, "We'll continue this later. Stephen, Abby – _Abby!_ Come on!"

Reluctantly, the others followed him out, leaving Helen in the company of a cheery guard with a gun.

The three of them ran down the corridor in the direction of the control room. People were running everywhere, some panicking, others wielding guns, others...covered in blood? Stephen grabbed the arm of one of the more stationary people, "What's going on?"

The woman looked terrified, "The anomaly's here! It opened in one of the labs – the creatures from the future came through! We have to get out of here!" She pulled out of Stephen's grip.

"Well that's not good." Nick commented, "We'll need guns."

* * *

Connor's head throbbed, the cool metal floor pressed against his cheek doing nothing to relieve to monotonous pain. Dimly, he thought he could hear gunfire, shouts, both human and inhuman, all rising in a cacophony of destruction.

Then he remembered.

Eyes snapping open, he wrenched himself to his feet, keeping his posture low in case _they_ noticed the movement. He didn't recognise where he was; some sort of storage facility. The anomaly bathed an otherworldly light upon the otherwise darkened room, illuminating the half ripped open door in its dimming light before it closed completely; the creatures must have heard the sound and leapt through it, following their base command even when all other control was lost on this side of the anomaly.

Connor blinked owlishly in confusion, dimly aware of the sickly feeling of blood trickling between his shoulder blades where one of the creatures had ripped a river of claw marks just before he had leapt through the anomaly. But why hadn't they finished him off when he had been unconscious? The answer came to him sluggishly, as if wading through a mire of tar; they had heard something better on the other side of the door.

Forcing himself to move, Conner pulled the gun she had given him from his belt, and cautiously moved towards the door, climbing over the torn metal and into an innocuous corridor. He refused to believe he was back until he had proof, and right now, this place looked horribly like the ARC; if he wasn't back...

Ignoring the pointlessly paranoid idea, he picked the direction that headed towards the sounds of guns. If he _was_ back to his old time, then they'd probably need help; he didn't run, not anymore. She'd taught him that.

A body clad in black flew through a door up ahead, crashing with a sickening thud against the opposite wall, his neck snapping like a sugar cane, flopping lifelessly against his now breathless chest. One of the creatures leapt after him, from a room that by the sounds of it, had descended into the abyss. It began tearing at his flesh.

Connor levelled his gun, being careful to avoid the red, blinking device imbedded in the creature's head, just in case he missed. He shot once, despite his blurry vision, sending the bullet straight through the soft area in the creature's collar bone that would lead to paralysis; she had been the first to discover that trick, and had taught him how to do it too. He remembered a time when they wouldn't even let him hold a gun. It was incredible how so much could change in such a relatively short space of time.

A scream tore through the air, and then another, followed by more of the familiar rattle of gunfire. He ran towards the noise, and into the main atrium that had once been the base of operation in the ARC. At first, all he saw were three more of the creatures, causing carnage everywhere, and to begin with, he saw no people other than the soldiers, nothing to place the ARC in a timeline.

Then he saw him, and his eyes darkened. She had been wrong. He wasn't back, he was at the ARC as he had known it for the better part of a year in hell, and they had stupidly lost control of their own damned creatures!

If Connor had been thinking clearly, he might have remembered that anomalies didn't just span space, but always had to span time as well. He might also have remembered that Oliver Leek had once been believed to be on the good side, stationed at the ARC under Lester. But he didn't, and so as far as he was concerned, let them die; he had to get out.

But then a creature saw him, or rather, heard his heart quicken with more anger and adrenaline. It ripped apart the man it was sitting on, and bounded off the walls, aiming for Connor. He only noticed just in time, sending off a badly placed shot which imbedded itself in the creature's side, sending it off course. It was on its feet in seconds, crouched, creeping towards him, not for stealth, but for intimidation, playing with its prey.

Connor tried to shoot it as he had the other, but his gun had jammed, which what you get for using illegally obtained firearms. Swearing, he threw it to the side, running full pelt in the other direction, at the same time looking for a gun that might have been dropped by a dead soldier. The creature gave the sort of cry that would vibrate through a person's ribcage, and leapt after him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Connor saw three soldiers take down one of the other creatures, and then a new wave of people flooded through the door, heading for the third creature that was advancing upon Leek and another man in a suit who was too far away for Connor to identify. Besides, he was kind of preoccupied by his own problem, which was complete with claws and teeth.

The creature took one last spring at him, causing him to duck to the side, but not before it tore a sizable gash in his arm. He stumbled, cursing his stupidity as he found himself backing into a corner.

It shook itself from its awkward fall, and approached, guttural sound omitting from its throat. Connor swallowed thickly. He didn't want to. He hated doing it; it hurt like hell, and in his condition, he doubted he'd be able to stay conscious even if he did succeed. Besides, it just felt so _wrong_, in so many horrible, perverted ways. But the other soldiers were using all their manpower to save Leek, having not noticed the third creature and Connor. Submitting himself to the inevitable, Connor leaned back against the wall for support, and closed his eyes, accessing the one part of his mind that shouldn't be there, because they had put it there; they had forced him to have this manmade link.

And the creature faltered. The red light that was attached to the direct link into its brain flickered, and started submitting new commands. Connor's face creased with pain, the extra strain within his brain causing it to swell dangerously. He felt his nose begin to bleed freely, and a horrible popping in his left ear signifying a burst ear drum, more blood trickling down his neck. He wanted to throw up as his mind tried to stop the creature from obeying its inbuilt nature to hunt and kill.

Then he felt the creature give in, collapsing to the floor.

Connor's mind swam as his brain's signals were scrambled by the chip imbedded in it, and however desperately he knew he needed to stay awake, he just as surely knew he had no hope in doing so.

His body slid bonelessly to the floor as his mind was forced to shut down in complete exhaustion and confusion.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: So, what did you think? Next chapter is the reunion! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Author Notes: Eep...Sorry guys! I completely forgot about this story! I was only reminded about it when my beta mentioned that one of our friends had finally addicted her to the show after I'd given her up for a lost cause. I start back at uni in a few days, so updates will be very erratic, especially with exams coming up. I just wanted to assure you all that I really appreciate the feedback you've given me so far, and I have no intention of abandoning this story :)

Chapter 4

Abby cringed as the creature finally fell to the ground, too full of bullets to remain alive. Nick was the first to break the suddenly oppressive silence, "We should move the bodies." He didn't mean the creatures.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Lester snapped, stepping gingerly over a carcass of one of the creatures from the future.

Cutter ignored him pointedly, indicating at the device attached to the creature, "We need to look at those things. They seem to be a remote of some kind, planted directly into the creature's brain. Someone might have planned this."

"Helen." Abby bit out.

Stephen shook his head, "She wouldn't be here if it was; it's not her style."

A shout drew their attention, "I need some help over here! This guy's still alive!"

Abby watched detachedly as medics responded to the call, "How many do you think are dead?"

"Too many."

Lester shook his head, "Cutter, a word?"

The two men began walking away from the main body of survivors, Stephen and Leek following. Abby remained where she was, casting a dull eye over the carnage. The survivor was wheeled past on a gurney, and she stepped out of the way. Then her mind registered what she had seen, "Connor?" The word escaped her lips in a whisper of a breath, and then the rest of her mind kicked in, and she ran after them, "Wait! Stop!"

Cutter and Stephen exchanged a look at her shouts, while Lester sighed in frustration, "What is that girl up to now?"

The medical team slowed to a halt, but they didn't look too pleased about it. Abby stopped dead, a metre from the gurney. One of the nurses stared, "Yes? Are you hurt?"

"Oh my god..." She stared in disbelief at the dirt and blood stained face, the dishevelled dark hair clinging limply to the pale skin. "Connor." This time, she said the name out loud, for all to hear in the now silent room, letting it echo. Even those who hadn't known him personally knew who he was, if only because of Helen's recent appearance and the ARC's rumour mill.

Nick and Stephen couldn't move. Both were frozen to the spot. Lester just looked at her as if she had finally just proved how lacking in sanity she was.

But the truth was there. Connor was alive.

* * *

A steady beep. Beep. Beep. Damn annoying too, couldn't it tell he was trying to sleep? Whose idea was it to make that stupid noise anyway?

But it didn't stop, and he resigned himself to the inevitable return to consciousness. Not that his body particularly wanted to. His skull felt like it had been split in half, hosted a drunken rock festival, and been sewn back together with a blunt needle. On the positive side of things, it seemed to detract from the dull throbbing in his back.

Connor forced himself to open his eyes, and immediately regretted it, squeezing them shut again. And another thing. Who thought people wanted to wake up in blinding white rooms?

He lay there for another few seconds, before his mind began to speed up, providing him with the details of what had happened. Shit! His eyes opened snapped open once more, and he struggled to sit up and untangle himself from the wires and monitors they had hooked him up to, a horrible sense of déjà vu coiling around his chest, suffocating him; he couldn't be here, not again.

Unfortunately, his body had yet to reach the same functioning level as his panicked mind, and he fell in a heap on the floor. Connor winced at the sound, detachedly noticing how one-dimensional everything was as he only heard things from one ear. He began wrenching each device, drip, needle and patch from his body, and scrambled to his feet, not noticing the worried orderly come over until they were right behind him. Unable to hear the words from that direction, and believing himself to be at Leek's ARC, he lashed out, causing the nurse to fall backwards and knock themselves out on a metal tray.

Connor ran to the door, ignoring the freezing cold floor on his bare feet, not helped by the thin hospital scrubs. Again, an all too familiar situation.

"_W-what's going on? What are you doing to me? Where am I?"_

"_Remarkable. He doesn't even know."_

"_Sir, it's possible that no time has passed for him."_

"_So, Connor Temple. Officially deceased for coming up to, what, four years now."_

"What?_ I'm sitting right here!"_

"_I do love not having to do paperwork. Prep him for the surgery; I want him in the subject line up by tomorrow."_

_-Hands were all over him, one brandishing a needle. He fought, but was still disorientated from his trip to the past, the creature, Helen...-_

"_You can't do this!"_

"_Actually, we're the Government, so yes, we can."_

Leek. Connor couldn't even begin to describe how much he wanted that man dead.

He tested the door handle, surprised to find it unlocked. There was, however, a guard with his back turned. Connor wound one of the monitor wires around his hands, and looped it around the soldier's neck, pulling hard. The man choked and struggled, face rapidly turning red, skin pulsing as blood attempted to continue to supply oxygen to his brain. And then the man fell limp.

Connor stepped over the body, taking the man's sidearm, the old, hidden part of him hoping the man had just blacked out, while the newer, more realistic part of him just ignored the act altogether.

Checking the chamber of the gun, Connor padded as silently as he could down the corridor, desperate to find a way out.

* * *

Abby sat silently, listening to the men throw around theories. For now, Helen was being left to rot and perhaps contemplate how she could convince them further, because, right now, they were far more interested in the new arrival.

The doctors had whisked him away to perform a DNA test – which returned positive – along with patching his battered body up. Lester was fuming, because no one could explain to him what was going on, and he hated being out of the loop. She stared, in deep thought, at one of the corpses of the creatures, the one that had been metres away from Connor in the corner. She didn't know why, but she had the nagging feeling she was missing something, and while they were unable to see Connor, she felt she might as well mull it over, every now and again letting the knowledge that Connor was actually, really, incredibly _back _seep into a smile.

She blinked, sitting up in shock. Had it just...

She watched the creature closely. There it was again. She stood up, and strode over to the table, "Guys, this one's still breathing."

"What?" Cutter and Stephen ran over. "It can't be."

Abby shook her head, "It's only taking a breath about every two minutes. Could it be hibernating?"

Glad to have something to think about other than their worry and confusion over Connor, the team set to work. They must have been at it two hours, until Nick finally shook his head at the impossible conclusion, "The body's alive, but the mind isn't. It's completely brain dead."

"Then why is it still breathing?" Jenny had joined them a while ago, unable to give them any further news on Connor.

"It's like coma patients." Abby supplied quietly, "Even after you switch the ventilator off, and they register as brain dead, it can take hours before the body stops working."

"And on that cheery thought-" Lester had walked in, his face grim, "Our little friend has woken up, knocked out a nurse, strangled his guard, stolen a gun, and is currently loose in the ARC."

"_What?_" Stephen exclaimed, "Connor? Are you serious?"

"Oh, and he's found his way into the holding cells, and is pointing a gun at Helen's head."

* * *

Connor had meant to get out, but as he had ran full pelt down one of the corridors, a patch of light spilling out from the wall caused him to slow. And freeze in shock.

Helen was sitting sullenly at a table, and a guard was standing in the corner. It didn't seem as if they could see him, and he realised that the glass must look like a mirror to them. He knew he should keep going, but he hadn't seen that woman since the day she had thrown them into the past, and him into the future. His throat tightened, a new wave a nausea washing over him, and he clenched his jaw. Mind made up, and hand tightening on the gun, he moved round to where the door was, about to try the handle, but settling for knocking instead; he had to know _why_.

The guard answered the door, and Connor knocked him out with the butt of the gun, unable to face shooting him point blank. Helen whirled around, out of her chair in an instant at the noise. Connor levelled the gun at her head, kicking the door shut behind him, the anger now prickling sharply under his skin, causing him not to see the security camera; or maybe he was just past caring.

Helen raised an eyebrow, eyes fixed on the gun, "Well, this is a surprise. By the way they were acting earlier, I had presumed you were gone for good."

"Why did you do it?"

Helen snorted, thinking that Connor must have taken the anomaly back to his time after all, and this had all been an elaborate interrogation technique on the part of Nick, "You don't think I find the idea of _you_ with a gun actually threatening, do you?"

Connor's eyes turned to stone, and he redirected the gun to her leg, shooting off a round. She was unable to prevent the cry of pain and surprise escaping her as she stumbled against the wall. Connor smirked at her, and suddenly Helen realised that she was not facing the same Connor as she had the last time they had met, "Now we're even. Answer the question."

Helen swallowed, knowing that she would have to tread carefully, "Does Nick know you're here?"

"Cutter's dead." Connor replied bluntly.

Helen stared in shock; whatever had come through the anomaly must have been pretty bad. She tried to form some sort of decent reply, but instead found herself answering the question he had first asked, "I needed you all to understand what you were doing; I needed...I needed Nick to notice me." There didn't seem much harm in admitting it now.

Connor blinked, "That's it? That's _all? _You stupid bitch!" Helen tried not to flinch as he took a step forwards, waving the gun, "This is all your fault dammit! Didn't you even stop to think? Fuck!" He slammed his hands down on the table, and then paced, running a hand through his hair.

"I didn't mean-"

"You didn't mean it? Is that what you want to say? The whole fucking universe is _screwed _because of you!" His voice was catching as the reality of what he was doing began to conflict with his emotions.

The door burst open, soldiers coming through first, "Put the gun down!"

Connor rolled his eyes, turning to face them, "And if I don't? What then? You'll shoot me? Please, Leek'd have your heads, or I wouldn't be alive now."

The statement seemed to confuse the men, but they were suddenly pushed aside by a small, blonde figure, "Connor! Please, put the gun down."

Connor faltered in confusion. It was Abby, but she didn't look like Abby should. Besides, he thought he saw...

And then two men, two very _dead_ men in Connor's opinion came and stood behind her, and suddenly Abby's appearance made sense. The gun thudded to the floor. "Oh my god." He swallowed, "I'm actually back, aren't I?"

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: This chapter was fun to write! Would love to hear any comments you have to make!


	5. Chapter 5

Author Notes: Sorry this took a while. I suddenly realised halfway through this chapter that I hadn't actually worked out what was going to happen next. I finally did today, finishing it. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for the lovely feedback!

Chapter 5

Cutter breathed sigh of relief as he saw Connor drop the gun, but his confusion and worry were only heightened by the words that followed the action. Connor seemed to pale, and then his legs gave from under him, forcing him to catch himself on the table, and sit heavily on the floor, just staring blankly at the ground and the gun. Helen straightened, focusing on Nick, "Well, you look good for a dead person."

Cutter gave her a look, and then indicated to the soldiers behind him, "Move her to another room, and have someone look at her leg. Go!"

The soldiers reluctantly obeyed, Stephen closing the door behind them. Abby moved forwards while Nick picked up the gun and handed it to Stephen. Tentatively, they watched as the young woman crouched down in front of the bedraggled and worn form of their friend, and reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder, "Connor? It's okay, Helen's gone, you're safe."

Connor looked up, responding to her voice. As their eyes connected, Abby couldn't remember ever seeing such emptiness in Connor's eyes. Nick could; it was the same look they had held when he had thought Abby was dead. The friend they had all thought was lost smiled weakly back at Abby, "Safe?" He seemed to be testing the word, as if it was an unfamiliar term. And then he lent forwards and wrapped both arms around the woman in front of him, and she returned the hug, both of them looking for all the world as if it was a dream from which they expected to wake up.

Finally, Connor pulled away, his smile slightly stronger. Nick and Stephen moved forwards, "Come on," Nick bent down and looped an arm around Connor's back, careful to avoid any bandages, "Let's get you off this floor."

Gently, and with Stephen's help, they got Connor to sit in the chair Helen had vacated, allowing their hands to linger so as to reassure themselves of the reality of his presence. Everything was quiet for a moment, no one really knowing what to say, but happy nonetheless, until Stephen frowned, "So why did Helen think Cutter was dead?"

"I thought he was." Connor spoke, his voice raspy and halting as he tried to get a hold on the overwhelming situation, his damaged mind and body running out of adrenalin to work on. "I mean, you are. I thought I was still there."

The three friends exchanged looks at the words, "I'm sorry Connor, I don't understand." Cutter spoke.

Connor half-shrugged, "In the future, you're dead. So is Stephen. I thought I was still there, and that Helen had finally made it, a prisoner like me."

"A prisoner?" Stephen raised an eyebrow, pushing the concept of him being dead to the back of his mind, "You must've realised you were in the ARC?"

Connor nodded, his eyes dull. Abby placed a reassuring hand on the back of his neck, "We're just glad you're back, you don't need to talk about anything."

The man shrugged again, ignoring the offer, "In the future, the ARC is a government facility controlled by Leek." They all frowned at the venom that laced his tone, "You're part of a 'terrorist cell', Abby, known as the Forsaken to the general public. I was too – you found me. The ARC controls the creatures, their own personal army. Anyone who is not enlightened enough to accept Leek's regime is declared an enemy of the new, golden age, with their rights as citizens revoked."

Abby blinked in shock, while Nick made a noise of outrage, "The ARC is a research facility!"

Connor gave him a crooked smile, "It's now known as Active Regulations Control. It's the army, police and secret service all rolled into one, as well as serving as Leek's personal guard, of course." Connor studied their horror-filled faces impassively, before continuing, "When I went into the past with Helen, I ended up going through another anomaly, one to the future."

Abby nodded, somehow managing to form words, "Helen told us."

"I was injured, the creature that followed me through was going to kill me, but the Anomaly Detector had done its job, and I was picked up by the ARC." He swallowed thickly, "Leek was quite shocked to see me, but at the same time I was just what he needed. They were testing a new method of creature-management, and needed human _volunteers_. In other words, anyone who they could pick up under an offence; being 'dead', I had no citizen file, so was a perfect candidate."

Stephen had gone slightly pale, "You mean they tested those neuro-controls on _humans?_"

Connor shook his head, "They may have, but they already had that technology by then. Possibly gained through the anomalies, because I don't think the future creatures you know were native to even that time, although there were a lot of them. No, they wanted to test a kind of micro-technology, a chip that could be implanted into the brain and used to directly control the creatures. They wanted them for their soldiers, but didn't want to test the technology on loyal men."

All three stared at him, "Do you mean..?"

"Unfortunately."

The blunt response made it clear he didn't want to talk about it, so Nick changed topic, "How did you get back to us?"

"I escaped the ARC – by accident, really. The Forsaken were conducting a recon mission, to try and take out some of the creatures in the meantime; they wanted to see if it would be possible to cut power to the facility, but there were too many back-up contingencies." He raised his eyes to Abby, "You saw me. I don't think you believed it at first, but then you realised what must have happened to me, and I got out. It was weird; you weren't much older, but you'd seen a lot in a short space of time. We formed a plan – a few of our scientists were convinced I could change the future if they sent me back; we knew it was possible from what you did, Cutter, and as I didn't exist in the past, I wouldn't create a paradox. Took us ages to find the right anomaly, but we did."

There was silence in the room. Connor had nothing else to say, reluctant to reveal too much, but Abby had to know, "How far in the future were you?"

Connor refused to meet her eyes as he replied, "When I woke up in Leek's ARC, it was almost four years from when I had been taken by Helen. When I left to return here, it had been almost five."

Cutter swore, "Only _four _years?"

Abby, on the other hand, heard something else. Her throat caught, "I thought a few months was bad, but you've been gone a year." Her eyes blurred slightly with tears, and she pulled him back into a hug, "We've missed you." She pulled back, placing a kiss on his cheek, lingering perhaps more than a friend would.

Nick turned to Stephen, "We need to talk to Lester."

"Can we trust him? What if he's part of the problem?"

Cutter sighed exasperatedly, "By the sounds of it, I'd say Leek was the bigger problem, don't you?"

Stephen nodded, "I'll get on it." He swept from the room, glad to have something to do, or rather, something to point a gun at.

Nick rested a hand on Connor's shoulder, "I think it's time we get you back to a doctor, don't you? Try not to plan a great escape this time though."

Connor quirked a weak smile, "I'll restrain myself." With Cutter and Abby's help, he got to his feet, and began to make the slow, trudging walk back to the infirmary. Every muscle ached, and his recent wounds throbbed. He had had worse during his time with Leek, but then he had had a purpose and hate to keep him upright. Now with neither, it was all he could do to keep his feet moving one in front of the other.

Everything was going to be fine now. Lester would have Leek arrested, or somehow removed. The ARC would never fall, and Helen was in custody. Without the catalysts that spurred whatever in the future made the anomalies tear their way through time was gone.

It was this thought that allowed Connor to make the walk, with two friends by his side.

But it was the sudden loss of light as they were all plunged into darkness that flooded panic, adrenalin and strength back into his body, a reaction born on the instinct of fight or flight.

And it was this that made him realise just how naive he still must be, to ever believe he would be safe again.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Cliffhanger! Woot! Just to warn you, this might not be updated for as much as another month, as my exams are looming, and I'll need to be revising. I normally keep a few chapters in reserve for instances like this, but like I said, I had block on this one. If I still haven't updated by 20th June, feel free to poke, prod and threaten away. Hope you liked it, and I'd love to hear from you!


	6. Chapter 6

Author Notes: Sorry this took so long! I had meant to start after my exams, but realised I didn't know how to continue. I hope this is worth the wait!

Chapter 6

They say the world is made of uncountable numbers of tiny atoms, all skipping about in chaotic harmony. They say that this balance is fragile, as if of glass. One pinprick of pressure, and it all comes shattering, crashing through reality, spiderwebs of edges and blades.

As one takes a tentative step out onto a frozen lake, only to gasp at that last heart-wrenching, certain moment when you jerk but a fraction and pause, as the cracks shoot away, planning an unplanned route through the changeable ice, each fracture bigger, more frantic than the last.

As one falls.

Only a fool would step out onto the ice, as only a fool would dare to crack the glass, the mirror of time and space, smashed and abandoned.

It is simple.

If no one had stepped onto the ice, then it would not have torn, sending chaotic fissures and splinters back along not only the path you have just stepped, but ones you will now never step, and paths you could have taken to the epicentre upon which you now stand.

So you see, the cause that makes the effect needs not to be at your beginning, nor at your end, or any of the infinite beginnings and ends of the multiverse. You personally may in fact have never stepped there, or even been destined to step there. But you did.

At the centre of all things, one raindrop can cause a flood.

Because that is all it takes.

* * *

"It can't be."

No one knew who uttered the words that saturated the small group of people standing transfixed at the screen held together by what might at a glance seem like tape and string. It did not matter. The little band gaped as across the map of the world, little blinking lights multiplied, each with its own unique set of data, cascading outwards from a little island in Europe, a little country led by a madman. And the little lights focused around the ARC.

"What has he done?" The voice was older than its owner, as a small blonde woman pushed to the fore; focusing on one of the men she knew well, "What happened?"

The man shook his head, "Our readings from the ARC went haywire. It's Leek. I don't know what he did, but we're reading more anomalies than ever recorded!"

"I thought that Temple kid was meant to fix this?" A young man spat, little older than Connor, but a witness to so much more, "He's made it worse!"

"No." The woman's voice held so much conviction, it made the man flinch. "Nick was right."

Her last words were barely more than a breath, but all heard them and froze. Their leader hardly ever mentioned her old mentor, and when she turned, her eyes blazed. The scientist who knew her the best laid a hand on her shoulder, "Abby? What do you need us to do?"

She regarded the small band, the few survivors from the effort to get Connor home, "Get your weapons and find me an anomaly that goes to Connor's time. This is where it begins, so we will go to the time when it ends."

In the following battle cry, no one truly registered the strangeness of her words.

* * *

Almost as soon as they were plunged into darkness and the emergency lighting kicked it, screams permeated the air, echoing distantly through the halls of the ARC. Abby's breath hitched, "Not again. Please not again."

Nick adjusted his grip on Connor's arm as his young friend somehow managed to find the energy to straighten and fix his gaze on the eerie blue-washed corridor, a strange blank resolve gracing his features. Gunfire started its distant rattling song, rising in chaotic dissonance with the howls and snarls of a myriad of creatures. "Damn. We need to get some weapons, and a radio to contact Stephen. Connor? You think you can manage?"

Connor swallowed harshly, and gave one sharp nod, not sure if he trusted his voice to remain steady if he spoke. Nick clearly wasn't convinced, but accepted the answer, "This way, come on!" He dragged them in the direction of one of the arsenals.

Only to all be floored by the shockwave of a forceful explosion from deep within the facility. Many of their meagre light sources went out. "What the hell was that?" Abby sat up half gasping, half choking from the debris.

"I think it was an explosion." Connor commented dryly.

"Because things just keep getting better." Nick agreed as the three wrenched themselves to their feet and increased pace.

"Here!" Abby skidded to a halt and wrenched open the door, the familiar locker room come armoury looming in view.

And then a low growling caused them all to freeze, hearts pounding as they slowly turned as one, Cutter unconsciously shifting to half-block Abby and Connor from view of the sabretooth. Bile rose in Connor's throat as his eyes fixed themselves on the hated red blinking device on the creature's snarling head. He didn't want to, hell, he was pretty sure he _couldn't _right now. Nevertheless, none of them were armed, and he knew all too well what effect running had when faced with this ancient big cat. It placed one paw forwards, and Nick's darting eyes revealed his frantic mind at work, calculating whether they could get inside and shut the door before it pounced. Connor knew they couldn't take that chance, and his eyes began to slide shut.

A whistle, a thud, and an ear-splitting howl all blurred together within a second. Connor's eyes flew open in time to see a furious sabretooth whirl and stagger, before falling to the ground groggily, still trying to rise before finally lying still. Stephen shouldered his gun, striding forwards and stepping around the animal, "Before you give me the lecture, it was a tranquilliser gun, although the way this place is going to hell, you're gonna be hard pressed to stop me from switching to bullets. You all okay?"

Nick nodded, "Good timing."

They strode into the armoury, all three momentarily pausing to watch in awe as Connor, oblivious to the stares, picked up a gun, checked it, loaded it, and checked it again before holstering it and moving onto a larger rifle, all in a matter of a few seconds. They decided not to comment, Abby instead filling the tense silence, "What happened?"

"The anomaly detector went haywire, short-circuiting before anomalies began forming all over the ARC. There are creatures everywhere, and they're all being controlled." Stephen replied, face grim.

"What can we do? It's not as if we can stop anomalies from forming!" Abby snapped, her voice strained.

Stephen shrugged, exchanging worried looks with Cutter, "I've never seen so many anomalies in one place before. It's all concentrating on the ARC for some reason."

"Did you see Leek?" Connor quiet voice drew their attention; as much as it pained them to admit, they had become so used to working without him that they had almost forgotten he was there.

"I didn't see him. Lester thinks he did a runner when you came back. Not that it matters now."

Connor shook his head, "I didn't mean him," he rebuffed enigmatically, "You had a theory, Cutter, and then there was the Last Stratagem..." He trailed off.

"I'm sorry, the what?" Abby paused from her examination of the corridor to regard Connor closely.

He shrugged, "It was Leek's last project. No one could find out what it was for, only the name. The scientists he had working on it were kept under tight security in the ARC 24/7."

"What was my theory?" Cutter interrupted sharply.

Wailing echoed distantly down the corridor outside, drawing Connor's already scattered attention. He shook his head, "It doesn't matter now. Even if we can't stop the anomalies, we can't allow the creatures to make it outside."

"Connor's right." Stephen gave his friends a look to tell them to forget about it, and both Nick and Abby nodded.

Almost in agreement with the needed urgency, the last vestiges of emergency lighting failed. Connor cursed, before digging into a box and cracking something, an almost ethereal yellow glow emitting from where he stood. He passed a few of the lightsticks to his friends, before following Stephen's lead and attaching a small torch to his gun.

"Keep alert." Nick muttered as they moved forwards as one. It didn't really need to be said, but the saying made them feel better anyway.

* * *

"Keep alert." Abby hissed to her team, crouched low. "We're heading for the control centre – we need to stop Leek. Shoot to kill."

"What if you're wrong?" Someone muttered from behind.

"It's the only option we've got. Remember – there'll be two of them here."

"Wonderful." Another voice commented snidely to the darkness.

"Split up, two teams. Stay in radio contact, and keep your earpieces in; it's not just creatures we have to worry about noticing us. And keep your eyes open for Connor. He's the only one with chip-control, and if the anomaly readouts are to be believed, we're going to need all the help we can get."

* * *

Somehow in the confusion, Connor and Stephen had become separated from the other two. Creatures were everywhere, and they had been more focused on finding the next target than keeping track on what direction they were headed next.

Connor half collapsed against a wall, throwing his dying lightstick away from him as he slid to a crouched position, using the brief rebate to reload his gun with what little ammo they had managed to pick up from someone who had not been so lucky. Stephen slipped down next to him, saying nothing. He and Connor had never shared the same level of connection as Stephen experienced with the other two, perhaps rooted in the way Connor had always behaved, seeming to never take things seriously; the baby of the group, at least in maturity. This version though? He was even harder to figure out than his counterpart. He was more competent at holding his own, that was for sure, but that uniquely Connor attitude of wearing his heart on his sleeve had disappeared.

"We should keep moving." Connor murmured, his breath short.

Stephen nodded, making to rise, when a disturbingly familiar clicking sound made him freeze. Lightly footed steps, with sharp claws clacking against the floor. He swallowed, trying to hold his breath against his instinct to run. He exchanged a look with Connor in the dim afterglow of his own failing lightstick. The other man gave a sharp nod in the direction away from the sound, pressing firmly on Stephen's arm in an indication to move, but move quietly.

They made it a little way before Stephen, who was in front of Connor, took another step, his boot connecting with Connor's discarded lightstick, sending it skidding away into the darkness. A cry of triumph sounded behind them, "Run!" Connor yelled, shoving at Stephen's back while firing off three blind rounds behind him.

The noise coalesced in the confined space, causing confusion and chaos, until both their guns stopped adding to the cacophony, an oddly pathetic clicking replacing the previous cracking of shots. They had run out of bullets.

Shadows loomed in the dark from in front and behind, as the two men stood with their backs pressed against each other. Spots of red glowed dimly in the dark, indicating where the heads of their attackers were. Lust and instinct combined with the control they were under as the extinct creatures advanced. Stephen swallowed, "Connor?"

Connor didn't answer. He knew what Stephen was asking him to do, but also knew one tiny problem that his friend did not.

There were seven devices.

This meant there were seven creatures he had the potential to stop.

But he had only ever attempted to simultaneously control two creatures in his life.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Gasp! What will happen? Only one more chapter to go, and I'll try and get it done as soon as I can! I'd love to know your thoughts on this!


	7. Chapter 7

Author Notes: Longest and last chapter folks! I really enjoyed writing this, and hope you enjoyed reading this! Thanks for the support.

Chapter 7

There was no difference now between having your eyes shut or open, such was the darkness. There was just you, your heartbeat, and a pressure at your back.

It could have been your terrified mind, or it could have actually been the putrid breath of a predator against your face, the stench of once-living flesh potentially having been part of a warm hand you once touched.

Perhaps it was better that you couldn't be sure.

You close your eyes, a hopeless cause, in an effort to feel that you might succeed, that you won't be leapt upon and gutted, feeling your intestines sluggishly slid across the floor before you die.

Connor leapt out of his skin as five successive rounds were shot off in the confined space, followed by five thuds. His eyes flew open, but he still couldn't see through the inky blackness. And then a torch clicked on, aimed in his face, as its owner removed night-vision goggles from their head. The beam sliced through the darkness, falling on the twitching dead bodies of the extinct hunters. He managed to conjure a weak smile onto his shell-shocked face. Stephen was more vocal, "_Abby?_ What the...But you..?"

The woman gave him a sharp nod of acknowledgement, "Nice to see you again Stephen. You both okay?"

As she spoke, more shadows of people flittered just outside the beam of torchlight. "Thanks. How did you get here?" Stephen seemed to be having trouble gauging the pair, as Connor was just as business-like with her, or so it appeared to him at least. Connor just knew they didn't have the time for pointless chatter.

"Anomalies are everywhere. All concentrated on the ARC. Leek initiated the Last Stratagem, and succeeded. Nick was right."

"Alright – what the hell was Cutter's theory?" Stephen was getting sick of being out of the loop.

"No time." Connor snapped, accepted a freshly loaded gun from one of the men with a nod. "We need to move. If any of the creatures make it outside..."

"No, we need to find Leek."

"He's here?" Connor spat, whirling back around, the air suddenly charged.

The future Abby remained stoic, "You know what we need to do."

Connor nodded jerkily, while Stephen frowned, having the feeling he was missing something vital, "Let's move out." He started down the corridor, almost in comparison to the distant roars. The men began to fluidly follow him.

Abby turned to Stephen, "You always believed the anomalies occurred for a reason. Nick always saw them as something 'wrong'. Wounds in the universe. He was right. Leek created the anomalies. In the future. They've echoed back. The Last Stratagem was a way to get into the past to follow Connor, to ensure his continued control."

She began to move away, but Stephen grabbed her arm, his mind having trouble grasping the concept, "But the anomalies have been happening since before Leek even joined the program! He couldn't have created them!"

"Time is hardly a straight line Stephen. Surely you've worked that out by now." He couldn't reply, the hard eyes and scathing tone that were so unlike the Abby he knew tying his tongue.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Abby hissed, leaning heavily against Cutter as they stopped for breath in the corridor.

"You're telling me. How's your arm?" HE glanced down at her in concern, regarding the blood ooze sluggishly from the gash in her left forearm.

"It'll be okay. I just wish I could've seen what did it."

Nick snorted, "Yeah? Well I'm just glad we got out of there."

"Do you think the others are okay?" Her voice was determinedly void of emotion.

"Sure." He flashed a smile, "But we can't stay here – that arm will attract some unwanted attention."

Neither believed his empty reassurances for one moment, but Abby had a more pressing question, "Cutter, what are we actually _doing?_ How can we stop this?"

For a moment, Nick debated telling her, but knew that would be unfair, "We need to get to the control centre. Lester had a contingency strategy put in place in case of something like this. If I can get access to the mainframe, I can blow up this base, taking everything with it."

"_What?_ Are you insane?"

"We don't have a choice!"

"So you're going to kill everyone in this base, and leave a smoking crater in the middle of London?

"Everyone on this base is as good as dead if we do nothing, you and me included, and this is a far better idea that taking the chance of the creatures making it outside."

"What if the explosion doesn't affect the anomalies? What would happen when the only facility designed to respond to the anomalies is destroyed?"

Nick looked at his friend, her eyes desperate to find reason, "Either way, the future is lost – better to take this chance than give Leek the ARC and a dictatorship."

* * *

Countless bullets and bodies later, the severely depleted team had made it to the walkway off the labs, the one that looked down onto the auditorium-like room that was the nerve centre of the ARC. They kept low, no longer needing their goggles as seven anomalies cast their fragmented glow over the proceedings. Creatures prowled next to armed men who definitely did not belong in this time, and there, there was Leek. He was almost unrecognisable to Stephen, but by the tensing of the others around him, including Connor, the change had clearly not been for the better. Gone was the drab suit, his clothes now screaming the message of authority, emphasized by the placid predator at his side. He was taunting Lester and Claudia, who sat under guard amidst bodies of their now dead colleagues. And then another, tentative figure moving out of the shadows, and there was the other Leek, the one Stephen had the displeasure of knowing.

The doors burst open, causing the little team to crouch further to the floor. Two men were dragging a third; Helen. They exchanged sharp words with each other, but the noise from the restless predators masked the precise content.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the strange new Abby rest a hand on Connor's shoulder to get his attention, "I need you to cover me. I can't risk a shot from this distance. My men will create a distraction, but it needs to be more. Can you do it?"

Stephen clenched his fists; she shouldn't be asking Connor that, but nevertheless, the younger man nodded, a little paler than before. Abby turned her piercing gaze to him, "Stay up here with him. Keep him focused and out of the line of fire. Makes sure he remembers to breathe." Stephen nodded in silence, while Connor made to protest, only be cut off, "I know you can handle it – just try and keep your stupidity to a minimum, okay?"

They both smiled weakly as the small team spread out into the shadows, making their way down. "Connor?" Stephen turned to the younger man, wordlessly asking after his state of mind.

"I can do this."He took a deep breath before exhaling shifting to a more comfortable position from a crouch to his knees.

And then everyone was in position, and it began.

* * *

Nick and Abby crouched behind some gun crates which had apparently been brought along by Leek Mark Two through one of the numerous anomalies. Abby wished her heart would stop beating so loudly; one of the creatures was surely bound to notice.

They were at a loss as to what to do. With the access terminals on the other side of Leek, there was no way for them to get over there without being noticed, let alone give the appropriate command codes before they were killed.

But any decision they might have come to was rendered unnecessary with the following explosion of gunfire, and the enraged creatures. Leek's voice carried over the noise as one of the future predators leapt in front of him and his cowering counterpart, unwillingly sacrificing itself for its master, "Nice try, Maitland, but I expected better!"

Abby and Nick exchanged confused looks. Why was Leek calling after her? A flying creature moving too fast to see distracted their attention as it shot towards one of the men, decapitating him before moving onto the others, and suddenly all gunfire was concentrated on the onslaught, as Leek called all his _pets_ to his aid.

But then it faltered, juddering in midair for a spilt-second – enough to get a bullet through its neck. Leek was enraged, "Temple is here! Find him!"

Up on the walkway, Stephen was trying to calm a shaking Connor, who was doing his best not to moan and give away their position as he clutched his head in pain, trying to stay awake. His nose was already bleeding again; no doubt the scent of blood would summon the creatures soon.

Connor forced himself to open his eyes and focus, narrowly delving into the oppressive mind of the mammoth to alter its path of stampede and pacify it. He retched emptily as he wrenched his mind out again before it could get caught under the weight, grateful for the comforting presence of a friend.

An earth-shattering scream of triumph as one of the future predators found them, followed soon by a myriad of time-clashing animals. Dimly, he thought he heard Leek scream something, and a gun went off in his ear. His blurred vision tunnelled, and he latched into the first mind he felt, turning its intent around, and pitting it against the other attackers.

But then the gallery gave an almighty lurch, metal and creature alike screamed, and Stephen was gone, while Connor was falling through the air.

Abby would have screamed if Cutter had not clamped his hand on her mouth. They had watched the sudden discovery of their friends above them in helplessness and horror. And then Connor had been thrown from the walkway to what would have been his death, if he had not been caught in the web of snapped cables that had been part of the lower walkway before he finally did crash to the ground, unmoving. Stephen was still trapped above them, but Leek's command had been clear, and the creatures soon dived after Connor.

But then the cards changed once again, as Abby watched _herself_ emerge from the shadows, firing shots into the air to get Leek's attention. Immediately he screamed at the destroyed minds of his creatures to kill her, as she aimed her gun with a precise air.

Silence fell.

All of the creatures, be they dinosaur or mammal, had frozen mid-attack, shuddering as commands and instinct warred in their fragile minds.

Connor was shivering violently, his nose bleeding again onto the floor, matting into his hair as he forced the microchip in his brain to connect with all the devices in the room. His fingers where white, gripping the smooth floor.

Leek was the first to speak, "You are almost out of ammunition, Maitland, and your friend is very close to a haemorrhaged brain and inevitable death. Give it up; you cannot harm me."

Even from Cutter and Abby's position, they could all see it was true. Leek's sabretooth guardcat was frozen mid-leap, effectively shielding his body from the other Abby's position.

But then she smiled, almost catlike in herself, "It's always about you, isn't it?" She altered her line of sight with expert ease, shooting one round past the dictator she had been fighting for so long.

A thud. Not even a scream, gasp or cry, just the squelching thud of a bullet impacting a human skull.

She had shot Leek, but not the one they had expected her to.

Silence reigned, and then the anomalies began to pulse unstably, and the remaining Leek cried out in pain, blood blossoming slowly in his forehead as his body fell dead, before fading entirely.

Abby rose to her feet as the anomalies flickered and died, while the creatures and bodies of the men from the future began to fade as well.

Her future counterpart was already on her feet, running towards Connor, who, as the connections were severed, succumbed to a coughing fit, blood splattering the floor before he collapsed. The woman slowed to stand above him, suddenly oddly interested in her hands before she turned and looked directly at the girl she had once been. Abby frowned as her counterpart smiled softly, before fading as if she had never been there.

No one could move. It was Stephen appearing out of nowhere and staggering down to try and check on Connor that kicked them back to reality again, screaming for medical teams and help, shoving recent events to the back of the minds, to be dealt with later.

* * *

There was that beeping again. It was really starting to get old. And the white room. A little variety would have been nice.

His head throbbed behind his eyes, and he struggled to focus. He frowned. A strange yellow mess seemed to be growing from his arm. What the hell had happened this time? Experimentally, he tried to move the afflicted arm, and the mess made a noise of protest, before morphing into a sleepy Abby. Her confusion soon turned to a huge grin, "Connor! You're awake!"

Her voice roused the room's two other occupants. Nick appeared tired, but otherwise unharmed, and Stephen was only covered in very faint bruises. Abby's arm was lightly wrapped in gauze, but it too did not seem that bad. Cutter smiled, "Nice of you to join us. I know you need beauty sleep, but don't you think three weeks is a bit excessive?"

It took a second to process, and then, "_What?_ Three weeks!"

Stephen's hand on his shoulder prevented him, from rising, "Not without cause, I assure you. You had us worried. What do you remember?"

Connor frowned in thought, and then grimaced, the mere memory of the alien minds merged with his own making his head pound. Abby took his hand gently in her own, "After the future me killed our Leek, everything disappeared. And then you collapsed; we thought you were dead."

Cutter looked grim at the memory, "The doctors had to operate – they said an abnormal mass of brain tissue had grown around the microchip. It was pressing on your skull. They managed to remove it."

"The chip's gone?" Connor asked in disbelief.

Stephen smiled ruefully, "It's not just the chip. There haven't been any anomalies since then. You should have seen Helen's face when we told her she had to stay put."

"That future never existed, which was why the future Abby, Leek, and all the men and creatures disappeared." Nick explained.

"And without Leek to create the anomalies in the first place..." Stephen trailed off.

Connor groaned, trying to wrap his head around the concept, but only found himself with the reward of a worsening headache. He regarded the three of them for a moment, "So does this mean we're all out of a job?"

Nick laughed, "I doubt Lester would let it go that easily. We still don't know if this is it."

"I don't follow."

Cutter shrugged, "If the anomalies were wiped from existence, you would think everything would return to the way it was before we even met each other, but it hasn't."

"Tell me that again when my brain doesn't feel like a chunk is missing." He yawned.

"We'll let you get some sleep. Get on your feet soon."

Cutter and Nick retreated, leaving Abby in what seemed like a suddenly very awkward situation. Connor was too sleepy to care, "I missed you."

She frowned, "I was the only one alive in the future, how did you manage to miss me?"

"The others were dead. You were alive, but you weren't you, just a constant reminder of who I was missing."

A nurse came in, and Abby jerked away from Connor's hand as if burnt. Connor smile knowingly. Her future self had told him what she had felt when she had thought him lost for good, as he had seen too many things to be scare or unsure anymore.

He felt the pull of sleep, while Abby smiled softly, "Goodnight Connor."

**FIN**

Author Notes: Well, I hoped you liked it, and that it wasn't too confusing! I'd love for any feedback you could give me!


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